Mefloquine pharmacokinetics and mefloquine-artesunate effectiveness in Peruvian patients with uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria.

BACKGROUND: Artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) is recommended as a means of prolonging the effectiveness of first-line malaria treatment regimens. Different brands of mefloquine (MQ) have been reported to be non-bioequivalent; this could result in sub-therapeutic levels of mefloquine with decreased efficacy. In 2002, mefloquine-artesunate (MQ-AS) combination therapy was adopted as the first-line treatment for uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in the Amazon region of Peru. Although MQ resistance has yet to be reported from the Peruvian Amazon, it has been reported from other countries in the Amazon Region. Therefore, continuous monitoring is warranted to ensure that the first-line therapy remains efficacious. This study examines the in vivo efficacy and pharmacokinetic parameters through Day 56 of three commercial formulations of MQ (Lariam, Mephaquin, and Mefloquina-AC Farma) given in combination with artesunate. METHODS: Thirty-nine non-pregnant adults with P. falciparum mono-infection were randomly assigned to receive artesunate in combination with either (1) Lariam, (2) Mephaquin, or (3) Mefloquina AC. Patients were assessed on Day 0 (with blood samples for pharmacokinetics at 0, 2, 4, and 8 hours), 1, 2, 3, 7, and then weekly until day 56. Clinical and parasitological outcomes were based on the standardized WHO protocol.Whole blood mefloquine concentrations were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography and pharmacokinetic parameters were determined using non-compartmental analysis of concentration versus time data. RESULTS: By day 3, all patients had cleared parasitaemia except for one patient in the AC Farma arm; this patient cleared by day 4. No recurrences of parasitaemia were seen in any of the 34 patients. All three MQ formulations had a terminal half-life of 14-15 days and time to maximum plasma concentration of 45-52 hours. The maximal concentration (Cmax) and interquartile range was 2,820 ng/ml (2,614-3,108) for Lariam, 2,500 ng/ml (2,363-2,713) for Mephaquin, and 2,750 ng/ml (2,550-3,000) for Mefloquina AC Farma. The pharmacokinetics of the three formulations were generally similar, with the exception of the Cmax of Mephaquin which was significantly different to that of Lariam (p = 0.04). CONCLUSION: All three formulations had similar pharmacokinetics; in addition, the pharmacokinetics seen in this Peruvian population were similar to reports from other ethnic groups. All patients rapidly cleared their parasitaemia with no evidence of recrudescence by Day 56. Continued surveillance is needed to ensure that patients continue to receive optimal therapy.

Surveillance for adverse drug reactions to combination antimalarial therapy with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine plus artesunate in Peru.

In 2001, Peru changed its treatment policy for uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria on the northern Pacific Coast to sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine with atresunate (SP-AS). Because Peru was the first country in the Americas to adopt this combination therapy, we established a surveillance system in the region to assess the frequency of new or worsening symptoms after starting therapy. Over a period of two years, 1,552, or approximately two-thirds of all patients with uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria who had received SP-AS on the northern coast were followed up. Of these, 8.8% reported at least one adverse effect, with the most common being vomiting, nausea, headache, abdominal pain, dizziness, and fever; no severe adverse effects related to SP-AS therapy were identified. Treatment of uncomplicated malaria with SP-AS was associated with a low frequency of mild adverse effects in Peru, and therefore should be considered as a first-line therapy in areas of the Americas where SP efficacy is still high.

Adaptation of a multi-drug resistant strain of Plasmodium falciparum from Peru to Aotus lemurinus griseimembra, A. nancymaae, and A. vociferans monkeys.

A strain of Plasmodium falciparum from Peru was adapted to splenectomized Aotus nancymaae and Aotus vociferans monkeys. The Peru 134/CDC strain of P. falciparum was shown to be resistant to treatment with chloroquine in monkeys and partially resistant to mefloquine and malarone. Genetic mutations in crt, dhfr, dhps, and cytochrome b genes conferring drug resistance were also determined for this Peruvian strain of P. falciparum.

Unusual pattern of Plasmodium falciparum drug resistance in the northwestern Peruvian Amazon region.

High levels of Plasmodium falciparum resistance to both chloroquine (CQ) and sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) have been documented throughout the Amazon Basin of South America. Because of reports about the persistent efficacy of both of these drugs in the northwestern Peruvian Amazon region, we carried out an evaluation of the therapeutic efficacy of chloroquine (25 mg/kg) and SP (25 mg/kg of the sulfadoxine component) for the treatment of uncomplicated P. falciparum infections at two sites: Ullpayacu and Pampa Hermoza/Alianza. A total of 111 patients were enrolled. Only 5 (14.3%) of the 35 patients who received CQ had an adequate clinical and parasitologic response (ACPR). Six subjects (17%) had early treatment failure, 1 (2.9%) had late clinical failure, and 23 (65.7%) had late parasitologic failure (LPF). Of the subjects treated with SP, 92.3% had ACPR and 7.7% had LPF. Based on these findings, it is clear that there are at least limited areas within the Peruvian Amazon region where P. falciparum strains continue to be sensitive to SP.

Efficacy and tolerability of artesunate plus sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine and sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine alone for the treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Peru.

To assist the Peruvian Ministry of Health in modifying the malaria treatment policy for their north Pacific coastal region, we conducted an in vivo efficacy trial of sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) and SP plus artesunate (SP-AS) for the treatment for uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum infections. A total of 197 patients were randomized to therapy with either SP (25 mg/kg of the sulfadoxine component in a single dose on day 0) or a combination of SP plus AS (4 mg/kg on days 0, 1, and 2) and were followed for 28 days for symptoms and recurrence of parasitemia. No statistically significant differences between the two groups were observed on enrollment with respect to age, sex, history of malaria, or geometric mean parasite density. A total of 185 subjects completed the 28-day follow-up. Of the 91 subjects treated with SP alone, two had recurrences of parasitemia on day 7 and one on day 21. Of the 94 subjects treated with SP-AS, one had a recurrence of parasitemia on day 21. Fever and asexual parasite density decreased significantly more rapidly and the proportion of patients with gametocytemia on days 3-28 was significantly lower in subjects treated with combination therapy than in those who received SP alone. No severe adverse drug reactions were observed; however, self-limited rash and pruritus were significantly more common and an exacerbation of nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain were observed significantly more frequently among patients who had received SP-AS. These results have contributed to a National Malaria Control Program decision to change to SP-AS combination therapy as the first-line treatment for uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria in northern coastal Peru in November 2001, making Peru the first country in the Americas to recommend this combination therapy.

Efficacy of sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine and mefloquine for the treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in the Amazon basin of Peru.

In vivo antimalarial drug efficacy studies of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria at an isolated site in the Amazon basin of Peru bordering Brazil and Colombia showed >50% RII/RIII resistance to sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine but no evidence of resistance to mefloquine.

Efficacy of mefloquine and mefloquine-artesunate for the treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in the Amazon region of Bolivia.

We assessed the efficacy of mefloquine monotherapy and mefloquine-artesunate (MQ-AS) combination therapy for the treatment of Plasmodium falciparum malaria at four sites in the Bolivian Amazon region. Patients with uncomplicated P. falciparum infections between 5 and 60 years of age were randomly assigned to be treated with either MQ (15 mg/kg in a single oral dose) or MQ (15 mg/kg) plus AS (4 mg/kg daily for 3 days). A total of 143 patients were enrolled and followed for 28 days. None of the 73 patients who received MQ alone or the 70 patients who received MQ-AS combination therapy had recurrences of parasitaemia during the 28-day follow-up period. Asexual parasite densities fell significantly more rapidly and the proportion of patients with gametocytes was significantly lower on days 7-28 in patients treated with MQ-AS than in those treated with MQ alone. All patients tolerated the medications well. After this study, the Bolivian Ministry of Public Health changed its treatment policy for uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria in the Amazon region to combination therapy with MQ-AS to slow or prevent the development of resistance.

Modifying national malaria treatment policies in Peru.

Between 1998 and 2001, the Peruvian Ministry of Health made sweeping changes in its malaria treatment policies in response to a resurgence of disease and the spread and intensification of antimalarial drug resistance. On the Pacific Coast, the first-line treatment for uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria was changed to combination therapy with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine plus artesunate; in the Amazon region, mefloquine-artesunate combination therapy was introduced. With these changes in treatment policy, Peru became the first country in the Americas to use combination therapy with an artemisinin drug as its first-line treatment for falciparum malaria and the first country in the world to use two different drug combination therapy regimens based on an artemisinin drug in different regions of the country. This paper describes the process involved in assessing the geographic distribution and intensity of antimalarial drug resistance throughout the country and the use of that information to guide decisions related to national malaria treatment policy.

Chloroquine-resistant Plasmodium vivax malaria in Peru.

Reports from several sites in South America suggest the presence of isolated cases of chloroquine-resistant Plasmodium vivax malaria. To investigate the possibility of chloroquine-resistant P. vivax in Peru, we conducted 28-day in vivo drug efficacy trials at three sites in the Amazon region and one site on the northern Pacific Coast between 1998 and 2001. A total of 242 patients between the ages of 2 and 60 years were enrolled (177 from the Amazon region and 65 from the northern coast). All subjects received directly observed therapy with chloroquine, 25 mg/kg, over a three-day period. On enrollment, 49% had a documented fever and 96% had a history of fever; their geometric mean parasite density was 5,129 parasites/microL. A total of 212 (88%) of the 242 subjects completed their 28-day follow-up. Four of the 177 patients from the Amazon region had a recurrence of P. vivax parasitemia on days 21 and 28 after treatment was initiated. Two of these patients had chloroquine-resistant infections, based on polymerase chain reaction-single-stranded conformational polymorphism genotyping and chloroquine-desethylchloroquine blood levels, which were > or = 97 ng/mL at the time of the reappearance of parasitemia. None of the subjects studied on the northern Pacific Coast had recurrent parasitemia.

Evaluation of a simple operational approach for monitoring resistance to antimalarial drugs in Peru.

Since 1994, the Peruvian Malaria Control Program has used a simplified operational approach for monitoring antimalarial drug efficacy, in which blood smears are taken 7 and 14 days after treatment from all patients diagnosed with malaria at Ministry of Health facilities. The proportion of patients with parasitaemia on one of their return visits provides an indication of the efficacy of the drug being administered. We compared this approach for antimalarial drug resistance monitoring to the more labour-intensive and expensive World Health Organization (WHO) 14-day in vivo efficacy trial at six sites in the Amazon Basin and the north coast of Peru. Although the proportion of treatment failures at 7 and 14 days identified by the operational monitoring system was considerably lower than the results of the WHO in vivo efficacy test, the operational approach did accurately reflect the overall efficacy or lack of efficacy of the drugs being evaluated. Differences in the results of the two methods were greatest in the Peruvian Amazon region, where fully supervised treatment and patient follow-up is very difficult due to the widely dispersed population. While the operational approach cannot be considered an alternative to WHO in vivo testing for evaluating the efficacy of antimalarial drugs or for recommending changes in malaria treatment policy, if treatment is supervised and follow-up blood smears taken as scheduled, this method could serve as a simple, inexpensive and sustainable early warning system for reduced drug efficacy.

Practical aspects of in vivo antimalarial drug efficacy testing in the Americas.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has developed guidelines for in vivo antimalarial drug efficacy testing for Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax in areas with low-to-moderate transmission, such as the Americas. These guidelines are used widely by ministries of health and national malaria control programs to assess the efficacy of their first-line and second-line drugs for the treatment of malaria and to provide the information necessary to update national malaria treatment policies. Following the WHO guidelines, we have conducted in vivo efficacy trials with a variety of drugs and drug combinations against P. falciparum and P. vivax at 13 sites in Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador. Based on these experiences, we have identified several modifications that we believe should be made in the WHO recommendations to make them more suitable to the relatively low levels of P. falciparum transmission in the Americas and to the logistic challenges of carrying out such studies in sparsely populated areas, such as the Amazon Basin. These include changes in inclusion and exclusion criteria, in enrollment and follow-up procedures, and in the measurement of study outcomes.

Efficacy of mefloquine and a mefloquine-artesunate combination therapy for the treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in the Amazon Basin of Peru.

In the Amazon Basin of Peru, more than 50% of patients with uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria fail to respond to treatment with chloroquine or sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine. To assist the National Malaria Control Program in identifying an alternative first-line therapy for this region, we conducted a trial of the safety and efficacy of mefloquine (MQ) compared with mefloquine-artesunate (MQ-AS) combination therapy. Patients with uncomplicated P. falciparum infections between the ages of 5 and 50 years were randomly assigned to be treated with either MQ (15 mg/kg in a single oral dose) or MQ (15 mg/kg) plus AS (4 mg/kg/day for three days). A total of 98 patients were enrolled and followed for 28 days. None of the 47 patients who received MQ alone or the 51 patients who received MQ-AS combination therapy had recurrences of parasitemia during the 28-day follow-up period. Asexual parasite densities decreased significantly more rapidly and the proportion of patients with gametocytes was significantly lower on days 3-21 in the MQ-AS group than in patients treated with MQ alone. All patients tolerated the medication well. Based on the results of this study and with the objective of slowing the development of resistance, the Peruvian Ministry of Health has decided to revise its malaria treatment policy and recommend combination therapy with MO-AS as the new first-line treatment of uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria in the Amazon region.

Lack of prediction of mefloquine and mefloquine-artesunate treatment outcome by mutations in the Plasmodium falciparum multidrug resistance 1 (pfmdr1) gene for P. falciparum malaria in Peru.

We assessed whether mutations in the Plasmodium falciparum multidrug-resistance gene 1 (pfmdr1) (C1034S, D1042N, and Y1246D) would predict treatment outcome during a 28-day in vivo treatment trial in the Peruvian Amazon. Mefloquine (MQ) was compared with mefloquine-artesunate (MQ-AS) in a randomized, multi-clinic protocol for the first time in the Americas. Of 115 patients enrolled in the in vivo arm, 97 patients were eligible for molecular analysis. All 97 patients remained parasite-free during 28 days of follow-up (MQ, n = 46; MQ-AS, n = 51), indicating 100% clinical efficacy of the MQ and MQ-AS treatment regimens. The reported MQ-sensitive alleles (C1034, D1042, and Y1246) were present in 48.5% (n = 47) of the cases, whereas 49 isolates (50.5%) contained the D1246 mutation reported to confer MQ resistance in vitro. However, neither this mutation nor a double mutation (S1034, D1246; n = 16) was predictive of MQ treatment outcome.

Efficacy of chloroquine, sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine, and mefloquine for the treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria on the north coast of Peru.

As part of an effort to assess antimalarial drug resistance in Peru, we carried out 14-day in vivo efficacy trials of chloroquine (CQ; 25 mg/kg) and sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP; 25 mg/kg of the sulfadoxine component) for the treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum infections at three sites on the northern coast of Peru. Mefloquine (MQ; 15 mg/kg) also was evaluated at one site. The results from all three sites were similar. Of the 53 patients treated with CQ, 58.5% had RII/RIII responses. No RIII failures were observed among the 112 patients who received SP, but 4.5% and 1.8%, respectively, had RII and RI responses. All 33 patients treated with MQ showed a sensitive response. Early treatment failures were observed in 27.1% of the CQ patients but in no patients receiving SP or MQ. Late treatment failures were seen in 59.3% of the CQ patients and 6.4% of the SP patients but in none of those treated with MQ. Based on these findings and because of concern about the potential for development of resistance if SP were used alone, the National Malaria Control Program is planning a change in malaria treatment policy to SP-artesunate combination therapy for this region of the country.